Scramble to rescue 100 dogs as huge wildfires ravage animal shelter in Spain

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A hundred dogs were rescued from Adana Dog Shelter, in the hills near the city of Estepona, as flames got close to the building on Sunday. The shelter was badly damaged by the fire

An animal shelter in Spain’s Costa del Sol has been left damaged by a wildfire, with volunteers scrambling to rescue the dogs inside.

A hundred dogs were rescued from Adana Dog Shelter, in the hills near the city of Estepona, as flames got close to the building on Sunday.

Susie Brown, president of Adana, said her team arrived at the shelter quickly and put in place an evacuation plan.

She told The Mirror she quickly launched an appeal for local people take in some of the rescued dogs and was overwhelmed by the public’s “phenomenal” response.

Ms Brown said the evacuation began at 12pm and by 3pm all the dogs had been brought to foster homes, where they are now being looked after.

She said: “We literally put the last two dogs into a van when the authorities closed the shelter down.

“The fire was there, it was right beside us and the smoke was coming in.”

Ms Brown said the wildfire reached the shelter but, luckily, did not destroy the indoor area where the dogs’ beds and living areas are.

She explained that Adana had suffered significant damage to its fences, as well as the water supply system.

Since the fire burnt the water pipes, volunteers now have to rely on water containers, Ms Brown said.

A few dogs are starting to return as some of the people who offered to look after them can no longer keep them due to other commitments, she explained.

Ms Brown said: “All the pipes were burnt in the fire, which is an absolute disaster. It’s going to cost thousands to put it right.

“Also, we had a huge storage area outside of Adana where we kept literally everything and that burnt to the ground, it’s not there anymore.”

The charity’s president said it was a “miracle” that the main shelter area was not destroyed by the fire as flames did not get into the places where dogs live and play.

She said: “It’s as if there was a magical, invisible circle around us which protected the whole shelter. Everything outside the shelter has gone.

“We think to replace all the fencing, the water pipes, the container, everything we lost…is going to cost about €45,000 (£38,400).”

Adana has now launched an appeal to raise money to repair the damage as soon as possible.

Ms Brown said currently the shelter does not need material donations as it is not able to store anything while repairs are carried out, but the team is grateful for any financial assistance the public can give.

She added that volunteers are now busy cleaning up the ash left by the fire, which has also covered the outdoor area where the dogs play.

The team is working very hard to make the shelter habitable again and welcome back as many dogs as they can, Ms Brown noted.

She added: “We are absolutely exhausted, we had no sleep for a week.

“We have been working day and night as we need to get the dogs back.

“We need to get the dogs back, but we need it to be safe, that’s the important thing.”

For more information on how to donate funds to the shelter visit www.adana.es/en/donations